Central rolls over Northampton, 35-0, in AA Conference Game

Cody Williams threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in his return from a two-game suspension. (Staff Photo by Dave Roback)

SPRINGFIELD – With quarterback Cody Williams back under center following a two-game suspension, only the heavy rain could slow the Central High School football team Friday night as it rolled to a 35-0 victory over Northampton at Berte Field.

Central (6-1, 3-0 AA Conference) did not punt at all, scoring five touchdowns, losing two fumbles and turning the ball over on downs deep in Blue Devils territory once. The Golden Eagles returned to their up-tempo, no-huddle offense, using their superior speed on the outside to connect for some big gains.

“They do some tricky things (with their defense),” Central coach Valdamar Brower said. “So we definitely had to be on point with our offense, make sure we executed.”

On Central’s opening possession, Williams (6 for 13, 164 yards, two TDs) rolled out on a designed pass play then decided to tuck the football, outrunning the Northampton secondary 55 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. In the second quarter, Williams threw for two more scores, a 25-yarder with 11:53 remaining and a 78-yarder 1:20 before halftime, both to Ju’an Williams.

Ju’an Williams filled in at quarterback the last two weeks, but moved back to wide receiver to make room for his cousin. He made three receptions for 114 yards, in addition to 47 return yards. Aaron Owens led the Golden Eagles with 12 carries for 107 yards and a touchdown.

For the second consecutive week, Central held in check a hard-nosed Wing-T offense. Northampton (5-2, 2-2) came in averaging 275 rushing yards per game, but Central limited the Blue Devils to 196 on 60 carries. Senior quarterback R.J. Ramsden led Northampton with 27 carries for 80 yards.

“I think we played extremely hard,” Northampton coach Pat Sledzieski said. “Quite frankly, we’re just not good enough right now (to beat Central). But we just have to keep getting better.”

Northampton will try to rebound Friday vs. East Longmeadow, while Central visits Agawam.